Our main planning activities

Planning consultations: we participate in national and local planning consultations including proposals to change the national, London-wide and Borough planning policies.

Planning applications: we review the weekly planning list issued by the council of all the planning applications and planning appeals and respond when necessary.

Member assistance: we study specific planning applications which our members ask for assistance – although we are not professional advisers in planning.

Dialogue with councillors and planning department: we meet often with the planning department officers and councillors. We comment on changes of procedures and try to make sure that views of residents are heard and understood.

Sounding Board: we meet with our affiliated local residents and conservation societies to discuss planning issues important to us and agree actions to be taken. We also refer to affiliated group’s planning applications which may affect their area.

The planning process

This page explains how the council deals with planning applications, from the stage before an application is submitted until the final decision. Information is given on each stage together with actions points and guidance to deal with supporting or objecting to applications.

The page also contains an article with valuable tips on how to make representations to a planning committee

Planning flexibilities & change of use

The government has been introducing new flexibilities within the planning system. These involve extra forms of ‘permitted development’ and freedoms on changes of use between planning use classes. RBKC successfully applied for exemption from the three year ‘commercial to residential’ freedom, to protect local employment.

Consultations

The government requires that the local authorities consult the public, the “stakeholders”, when developing or altering certain policies or plans. The Kensington Society is very active in the consultation process. As this is the front-end of the planning process, it is important that there is early engagement with us as well as any of the local “affected” parties.

Planning news

On 12 June 2017, the appeal against the council's refusal of the planning application for the large Newcombe House complex in Notting Hill Gate was refused by the Planning Inspectorate. The inspector did not have any problems with the design, size, height and location of the project, nor with its promised public benefits. But he rejected the appeal as he felt that it should be financially possible for the developer to compensate the loss of 20 affordable flats in Royston Court with a similar offering within the complex or at least within the borough.read more

On Tuesday 8 November, the council’s planning committee approved developer Frogmore’s plans for refurbishment of the five office buildings in Notting Hill Gate. The committee added a condition about public realm contributions to each of the three applications, totalling £120,000, but otherwise accepted them as they were.read more

In early March 2016, two years after the council approved the building of a new large luxury flat development on the site of Lancer Square on Kensington Church Street, the scaffolding came up and the demolition of the five-building complex began. Originally, the building works were expected to be completed in early 2017, but the delay means that they probably will go on to 2019-2020.read more